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04-01-2025
SEOUL: Police officers in South Korea have arrived at President Yoon Suk Yeol’s home in a bid to arrest him over his short-lived declaration of martial law in early December.
About 20 officers marched to the presidential residence at about 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT) with that number reinforced to about 80 an hour later, say reporters at the scene.
The atmosphere is tense as Yoon’s supporters gather outside his home.
Yoon’s lawyer says they will challenge the “unlawful” arrest warrant.
A court issued the warrant earlier this week against Yoon after he refused to answer summons to appear before officials investigating him for abusing his power and inciting an insurrection.
South Korea has been in political crisis since the short-lived martial law declaration.
Yoon was suspended from duties on 14 December after lawmakers voted to impeach him, but he can only be removed from office if this is upheld by the country’s constitutional court.
South Korea’s opposition party which commands a parliamentary majority has urged Yoon’s security personnel to cooperate with his arrest, according to Korean media reports.
We are hearing reports that Yoon’s presidential security forces known as the PSS, are trying to block his arrest.
“Anyone who obstructs the execution of an arrest warrant will be punished on charges of obstruction of special official duties and complicity in insurrection,” Democratic Party parliament floor representative Park Chan-dae warned.
Meanwhile, the party leader of Yoon’s People Power Party has asked police investigators to refrain from any “unreasonable attempts at arresting the sitting president”.
According to South Korean news agency Yonhap, the 80-strong arrest team has made its way through the presidential compound and is now at the door of the residence building, where they are attempting entry.
The media hasn’t been able to independently confirm this but we’re expecting updates as the day goes on.
The arrest team has moved through a standoff with a military unit inside the presidential compound, local media is reporting.
The team now faces the president’s security service, which has blocked previous attempts to raid Yoon’s office and residence.
Police officers, Yoon’s supporters and the media have all gathered outside the presidential residence this morning.
Tensions are simmering and protesters are fired up, chanting Yoon’s name in support of the suspended president.
The president’s lawyer has released a statement vowing to legally challenge the arrest warrant, without elaborating. The president’s team has previously called the order “unlawful”. South Korean news agency Yonhap is reporting that the investigators attempting to arrest Yoon are in a standoff with what appears to be a military unit inside the compound. The media has been unable to independently confirm this. Police have blocked the pavements leading to the president’s residence.
Dozens of police vans are parked up.
Lines of police officers have been walking up towards the address.
In 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol, then a political novice, won the presidential election by the narrowest margin South Korea’s democracy had ever seen but he soon found himself mired in scandal. Much of it centred on his wife Kim Keon Hee, who was accused of accepting a Dior handbag from a pastor. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
